Qualcomm wants to ban US iPhone imports because Apple's not paying licensing royalties
Apple and Qualcomm are not on the best of terms. The iPhone maker has sued Qualcomm for overcharging on royalties, demanding $1bn in compensation. The chip maker, in return, has sued Apple for making its modems worse in the iPhone 7 to match the performance of similar Intel cellular radios.
And now Qualcomm wants to take things to the next level, as it considers asking the International Trade Commission to ban iPhone imports in the US. If the ITC agrees, that would potentially lead to billions and billions of lost sales for Apple and affect its plans for the launch of the new iPhone.
Qualcomm: Snapdragon is more than a processor, it's a platform
Qualcomm no longer refers to Snapdragons as processors, but rather as a platform. It says it is changing the terminology because "Snapdragon is more than a single component, a piece of silicon, or what many would misinterpret as the CPU."
According to Qualcomm, the Snapdragon is an anthology of technology, composed of hardware, software and services. Looking at it that way, the word "processor" is unsuitable, and therefore had to be nixed.
Is Microsoft blocking Windows 7/8.1 updates on newer hardware?
A year ago, Microsoft revealed that Windows 10 would be the only Windows platform to support nextgen processors like Intel's Kaby Lake, AMD's Bristol Ridge, and Qualcomm’s 8996. The message then -- as now -- was clear: If you want to run a nextgen processor, you'll need Windows 10.
Last week, Microsoft published KB 4012982, with the title "'Your PC uses a processor that isn’t supported on this version of Windows' error when you scan or download Windows updates", suggesting that the restriction was now being enforced.
OnePlus 3T found to be cheating in benchmarks
Benchmarks are an important metric by which the performance of a given device can be measured. They provide a reliable means of determining whether one laptop, computer, phone or other device is faster than another -- at least that's the idea.
Tests performed by XDA Developers strongly suggest that OnePlus is using underhanded techniques to make the OnePlus 3T's Qualcomm Snapdragon 821 perform better in Qualcomm Trepn and Snapdragon Performance Visualizer tests. Analysis of results points to the fact that OnePlus is targeting benchmark apps by name, such as GeekBench, and is artificially boosting device performance when they are found to be running.
Apple sues Qualcomm for $1 billion over excessive royalties
Apple is not happy with its longtime partner Qualcomm, as it has filed a $1 billion lawsuit against the chip maker for allegedly being charged "royalties for technologies [that Qualcomm has] nothing to do with."
This is the second major lawsuit filed against Qualcomm this week, with the US Federal Trading Commission announcing on Tuesday that it is taking the chip maker to court for "monopolizing key semiconductor device used in cell phones." The two lawsuits are related.
A closer look at Qualcomm's new Snapdragon 835 flagship mobile processor
Qualcomm announced the Snapdragon 835 last year, but at the time it did not reveal much about what's new in its latest flagship mobile processor. Today, right before CES 2017 officially kicks off, the US chip maker is giving us more information about improvements it introduces.
We know the basics: the Snapdragon 835 is Qualcomm's first mobile processor built using the 10nm FinFET manufacturing processor, comes with Quick Charge 4, real-time thermal management, and is, as you might expect, faster and more energy-efficient than the previous range-leader, the Snapdragon 821. Now, let's take a closer look at the changes in the new flagship.
How will ARM support impact Windows 10?
Microsoft can be surprising at times. After ditching Windows RT, the software giant has announced that it is working with Qualcomm to bring ARM support to Windows 10. In practice, that means that we will see Snapdragon-powered machines running Microsoft's latest operating system which, and this is key, can run proper x86 software.
Windows RT did not have that, as it was limited to apps available from Windows Store. And we all know how that worked out. However, x86 software on Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 devices can be seen as a game-changer as, in theory, it could pave the way to running resource-intensive programs, like Adobe Photoshop, on smartphones. And I am talking about the true Photoshop, not some dumbed-down mobile version. That could be huge, no doubt.
Windows 10 coming to ARM -- paving the way for always connected, more power-efficient PCs
There’s a fair amount of news coming out of the Windows Hardware Engineering Community event (WinHEC) in Shenzhen, China at the moment, but potentially the most exciting announcement is that Windows 10 is coming to ARM.
A partnership with Qualcomm means that we’ll soon see a range of Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 PCs with integrated cellular connectivity that run x86 Win32 and universal Windows apps.
Qualcomm unveils Snapdragon 835 -- here is what you need to know
US chip maker Qualcomm today announces a new flagship mobile processor that will power next year's generation of high-end smartphones and tablets. Called Snapdragon 835, it is the company's first 10nm offering and promises increased energy efficiency and performance in a smaller package.
To build the Snapdragon 835, Qualcomm has teamed up with Samsung to take advantage of its 10nm FinFET manufacturing technology. This is not the first time that the two players have worked together, as Samsung also makes the Snapdragon 820. Let us take a closer look at the new kid on the block.
Qualcomm buys NXP Semiconductors
Qulacomm has announced that it will be acquiring NXP Semiconductors in order to fast track its way into the automotive industry as it tries to expand beyond the smartphone market.
The deal is valued at around $47 billion with Qualcomm agreeing to pay $110 a share for NXP. The company will be paying with a mixture of cash on hand and new debt at a price per share that is 11 percent higher than what semiconductor company's shares were trading for when the market closed on Wednesday.
Qualcomm facing record fine in South Korea for breaching fair trade rules
Qualcomm is facing a $900 million fine in South Korea after its Fair Trade Commission found that the California-based chipset company had charged smartphone manufacturers unfairly for its mobile processors.
The company was found guilty of breaching fair trade rules at the conclusion of the agency’s 17-month investigation. Qualcomm charged Samsung, LG and other South Korean smartphone manufacturers higher licensing fees than it should have for its mobile processors. The company used the wholesale price of a smartphone to calculate the fees as opposed to the actual cost of the chips.
Qualcomm unveils the processor that will power the next flagship smartphones
Qualcomm is well represented in the current generation of flagship smartphones. Its mighty Snapdragon 820 processor powers the most hotly anticipated high-end handsets that we have seen in 2016 so far, including HTC 10, LG G5, Samsung Galaxy S7 and Xiaomi Mi 5. But, for the next flagships to come in the second half of the year, the company is providing an even more powerful chip.
Qualcomm's latest high-end processor is called Snapdragon 821 and, as its name suggests, it is an evolution of the Snapdragon 820. The main improvements are "faster speed, improved power savings, and greater application performance". Let's take a closer look at it.
Tronsmart CC1T charger brings Quick Charge 3.0 in your car [Review]
Quick Charge is a wonderful technology that enables your smartphone or tablet to top up its battery at a much faster rate -- up to 400 percent faster, for its latest iteration. But, to enjoy the benefits that Quick Charge has to offer, you will have to use a compatible charger. One may be provided in the box, but if that is not the case there are some very nice wall chargers that are great for the job.
But if you need to charge your smartphone or tablet while driving you will have to pick up a dedicated car charger. I've been testing Tronsmart's CC1T car charger, which is one of the more-basic options with Quick Charge 3.0 support in the company's lineup, and you can read my impressions of it below.
New security vulnerability affects one in four Android devices
A security vulnerability on Google’s Android OS has exposed users’ text messages, call histories and other sensitive data for the past five years.
The security firm FireEye has released a blog post detailing how it affects smartphones running Android 4.3 Jelly Bean as well as earlier versions of the OS. The bug, which has been indexed as CVE-2016-2060, allows apps to access sensitive user data by taking advantage of Android’s permission system.
Windows 10 Mobile to support upcoming Qualcomm Snapdragon 830 processor
One of the biggest mistakes that Microsoft has made with Windows Phone is not adding support for the latest hardware in time. For instance, while Android flagships were coming out with quad-core chips and 1080p displays, for a long period of time after smartphones running the tiled operating system still had to make due with puny dual-core chips and lesser 720p screens.
Fortunately, this is a mistake that Microsoft will not repeat with Windows 10 Mobile. The company appears to be forward-thinking this time around, as its new smartphone operating system supports all the latest hardware -- including even a yet to be released high-end processor from Qualcomm.
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